The Cowboys-Lions game on December 30 was a nailbiter, but Dallas emerged victorious 20-19 over the Detriot, though not without controversy. With the Eagles' epic collapse against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, all the Cowboys need to do is beat the rival Washington Commanders to clinch the division, continuing the trend of the NFC East not having a repeat winner since 2004. Still, this victory might have been highway robbery.
The game’s final minutes were baffling. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy opted to run three passing plays when Dallas needed to run the ball and get a first down, forcing Detroit to burn its timeouts and take a knee to close the game. They were up 20-13. What were they thinking? If McCarthy believed that Lions’ quarterback Jared Goff couldn’t march downfield, he was dead wrong.
They carved up Dallas’ secondary to secure a touchdown, which tied the game and could’ve sent it into overtime. Instead, Lions head coach Dan Campbell opted for the two-point conversion to clinch the win. It was a ‘big man’ play, as Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker caught what would’ve been the game-winning two-point conversion. It was well-executed until an illegal touching penalty caused the game to devolve into a circus. It highlighted the ongoing issues with the officiating this season, with the explanation for the controversial penalty making it an even more puzzling debacle.
.@Lions v @dallascowboys @__taylordecker go back to WK 17 2021 ( thanks to Jake Ruder) they ran a similar play to Decker for a TD. Nothing new under the sun. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/DYBB5faj1V
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) December 31, 2023
Decker claimed he reported to the referee as eligible. Backup tackle Dan Skipper did not. Yet, there are two competing narratives here, and the consensus for many is that Detroit got robbed (via Detroit Free Press):
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Head ref Brad Allen told a pool reporter No. 70 Dan Skipper reported as eligible and No. 68 Taylor Decker did not.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 31, 2023
Skipper and Jared Goff said postgame that the exact opposite happened. pic.twitter.com/yG4K4nuoBJ
This explanation actually makes it worse.. he is saying the 2 players talking to him (Decker 1 of them) was telling him that #70 is reporting eligible. Totally make ZERO sense https://t.co/XBghZy3t6v
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) December 31, 2023
Wait, the Lions’ coach actually prepped the refs for precisely this scenario & this still happened? https://t.co/jN44UpZDLz
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) December 31, 2023
National analysts were up in arms across social media after the Lions had their go-ahead 2-point conversion wiped off the board by a penalty, leading to a 20-19 loss to the Cowboys.
In typical Lions fashion, the high-stakes, standalone game finished very controversially when left tackle Taylor Decker caught a pass in the end zone, seemingly putting the Lions in position to win the game.
However, the elation was quickly crushed when head referee Brad Allen announced an illegal touching penalty on Decker.
After the game, Decker said he specifically told Allen that he was declaring as an eligible receiver. Allen, however, said Dan Skipper declared as an eligible receiver, despite Skipper seemingly never getting close enough to speak with the referee.
Skipper said he never said a word to Allen, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell added in his postgame press conference that he went over all of the team's trick plays with the refereeing crew before the game, but there was still seemingly a mix-up.
When the penalty was called, Campbell decided to leave his offense on the field to attempt the 2-point play from roughly the 7-yard line. Goff was intercepted on the play, but Cowboys star Micah Parsons jumped offsides, giving the Lions another play. On the third try, this time from the 3, Goff attempted a pass to tight end James Mitchell, but the throw was low and Mitchell was unable to grab the pass, effectively ending the game.
Had the play stood, the Lions would've been up by 1 with 23 seconds left, but instead, the Cowboys recovered an onside kick and took a knee to run out the clock.
the evidence is in
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 31, 2023
a crime was committed
a Lions win was stolen in plain sight
refs are pure trash pic.twitter.com/VErRjxxMCZ
Sure appears Dan Campbell said he went thru the trick play in full detail with the refs before the game which means…goodness gracious.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 31, 2023
#Lions OT Taylor Decker: "I did exactly what the coach told me to do. I went to the ref and said 'report.'"
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2023
He also says its his understanding that HC Dan Campbell explained this exact situation to the refs before the game.
(🎥 @nolanbianchi) pic.twitter.com/XOQPMfeWk0 https://t.co/k8o9KRDQA2
Eligible receiver analysis pic.twitter.com/cr2mvHTTWs
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) December 31, 2023
Rex Ryan goes off on the officials for screwing the Lions last night. 💣 pic.twitter.com/s5ZUbrRzLE
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) December 31, 2023
Upon further review this whole thing is a pig f*^# https://t.co/dKMOSh3Ujn
— trey wingo (@wingoz) December 31, 2023
Absolute nightmare @NFLOfficiating https://t.co/UCWgcqdy3M
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 31, 2023
What a fiasco. With the rise of legal sports betting, these situations give much credence to the narrative that the games are rigged, and not in a funny 'It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia' kind of way:
Incidents like this (correct call or not) have many sports bettors questioning the integrity of the sport. https://t.co/xRmpyhTp33
— Carl Banks (@CarlBanksGIII) December 31, 2023
There were profound implications regarding the outcome of this game, so much so that even Philadelphia Eagles fans, were pulling for a Cowboys win due to playoff seeding. Instead, we got mayhem, and the Eagles suffered a crushing loss against a 3-12 (now 4-12) Cardinals team the following day.
Implications of Detroit's controversial Saturday night loss:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 31, 2023
🏈If Detroit had won, it would have secured, at worst, the No. 2 seed in the NFC with another win next week.
🏈If Detroit had won last night and again in Week 18, and if SF lost one game, the Lions would have claimed… pic.twitter.com/Eto3N6nl0Q
Head official Brad Allen and his crew could be precluded from officiating any playoff games because they've been a total trainwreck this season.
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